


Hope For The Future

by DGCatAniSiri



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: But we're not really addressing anything vital to TLJ here, First Kiss, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it's vaguely alluded to but not really spoken of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 07:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18048302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DGCatAniSiri/pseuds/DGCatAniSiri
Summary: The Resistance has retreated to Yavin 4 after Crait, and, now that they can breathe, Poe wants to show Finn around his home.





	Hope For The Future

The future had never meant much to Finn. Among the First Order, ‘the future’ was all about bringing ‘order’ and ‘stability’ to the galaxy, though in truth, their ideas of those things were... questionable at best, and a nightmare to anyone who recognized their tyranny for what it was. The future wasn’t a tangible reality, and that meant it wasn’t worth acknowledging.

That was the past, when he was with the First Order.

Now, Finn was a rebel. He was committed to the Resistance and its efforts to bring down the First Order. 

It might not be the future, in the sense that it was something solid and set in stone, but it was something real for him.

And then, of course, there was Poe. 

If Finn was honest, it was because of Poe that he wanted to try and figure out a future. Because he wanted to have a future with Poe. 

After Crait, the Resistance hadn’t had many options. Trying to stay under the radar, Rey and Chewbacca had piloted the Millennium Falcon to one of the few places in the galaxy that might offer safe harbor to the Resistance – Yavin Four.

Poe had been pleased to share his childhood home with the Resistance – it was a place he knew well enough that he could tell them where to hide from the First Order. There were teams of the Resistance out there, somewhere, trying to find some support – the New Republic had clearly been too in shock of the power of the Starkiller weapon to be able to come to their aid before Crait, but now...

With Starkiller destroyed and Snoke dead, there was a chance that at least parts of the New Republic would step up.

There was good reason to start from Yavin, Leia had said. It was the site of the Rebellion’s first major victory against the Empire, back in the day (not to discount the actions of the team who’d gotten the Death Star plans, but the destruction of the Death Star had been something that had gotten the attention of the galaxy, giving it greater standing as a message). If the Resistance was going to reform into the new Rebellion, it could hardly find a better place to establish itself. 

But beyond that, it was a place to recover. Crait had wounded them. They’d lost so many friends, the battles from Starkiller to D’Qar to Crait, happening in such quick succession... There had been no time to mourn. 

And now they were so few. As much as the General spoke of hope, it was hard to envision where they could go from here. The hope wasn’t in those among the Resistance fighting the First Order. It was that the galaxy would wake from its stupor and stand up and against them.

Yet, as the Falcon settled in the pyramid that had once housed the Rebellion, Finn could feel the shift in the air. They’d made it to a safe harbor. There were even the small handful of people on this moon who were willing to help the Resistance. The wounded were already being patched up, some old 2-1B medical droids having been wrangled, pulled out of storage as opposed to some of their more advanced, newer counterparts, harder to come by out on the fringes of Republic space, to offer medical aid.

Finn, who’d managed to make it off the First Order’s dreadnaught with just a few scrapes and bruises that had healed up during transit, was in the hangar. Rey had gone to explore the wilds of Yavin, having mentioned that it reminded her of Maz’s hideout. Finn remembered what she’d said when they’d entered the low atmo around Maz’s palace: “I didn’t think this much green existed in the galaxy.” To her, this was a place of wonders. And she was already prone to explore and wander over any place she was in. Now she had a whole new set of challenges in exploring Yavin, in teaching herself with the Force.

Finn, though, had seen the ruins of Maz’s palace. The green was a reminder of failure, of watching Rey be taken by the First Order. And of those who’d viewed him as a traitor. He shuddered – that memory, being declared a traitor, recognizing the voice, knowing that he’d never be able to go back... Even in being satisfied about his decision to not go back to the First Order, there was still a sense of having lost something. The First Order had promised him a future, and, even knowing that promise had been nothing but a lie, he still wondered sometimes about that future.

As he spent time among the Resistance, such as it was, though, that future they’d told him to expect seemed just like the First Order – cold, sterile, unfeeling. Because it was one devoid of the things that were part of life among the Resistance. The laughter was unremarked on. The decorations were hung on the wall and stayed up. The offhanded remarks didn’t result in a call for “reeducation.”

“Finn! Buddy!” 

Oh, yeah. And on top of that, the big grins that could make someone’s heart beat faster and stomach flip. Those DEFINITELY had been absent in the First Order. Speaking from experience, being stuck behind those masks didn’t encourage even the tiny rebellion of letting your face show anything frivolous like emotion.

Poe, grin wide, and BB-8 trailing behind him, ran up to Finn. Poe had traded in the leather jacket and pilot gear for attire better suited for Yavin’s tropical climate, going for a simple white tank top and cargo pants, which let him carry any number of various tools and such as he did his work, and, as a few hapless Resistance members had learned, kept his legs protected from the various forms of plant life that surrounded the ancient pyramids of the moon.

“Hey, do you have some free time?” Poe asked.

“Of course,” Finn answered. For you, I’d always have time. He only barely managed to not say it out loud, but it was close. He knew that it wasn’t against the rules and regs of the Resistance to fraternize, but... Old habits died hard.

And that made a good excuse for his actual reason to want to keep his feelings for Poe silent. He didn’t know if Poe would actually return them, and he didn’t want to risk this, his friendship with this amazing man, on the chance that he might... not. The Resistance wasn’t large (indeed, after Crait, they’d been able to uncomfortably fit in the Millennium Falcon, and an aging YT-1300 was not exactly spacious to begin with), and even on the reasonable assumption that the Resistance didn’t take issue with its members pairing off, they just didn’t have the numbers to acknowledge any awkwardness that came from relationships ending up turning sour.

Poe, unaware of the struggle that Finn was having with keeping his feelings under wraps, grinned brightly hearing that Finn was free. “Great! C’mon, we’re gonna take a hike.”

“A hike?” That hadn’t been what he’d expected.

“Yeah, I crawled around all over this area as a kid, and... I’d like to go check on some old spots I had, see how the places have changed. It’d be nice to have some company.”

Oh. Well, that sent a pang through Finn’s heart. How could he really argue with that? “Yeah, sure. Sounds great.”

***

An hour later, Finn wouldn’t exactly call it great. They’d travelled through a bunch of old jungle paths, trails that had seen just enough foot traffic to not be completely overtaken by the local vegetation, but still had seen better days. Finn had slipped off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, wishing he’d had the presence of mind to change his attire before coming out here. This wasn’t exactly the best time he’d ever had.

Though, staring at Poe’s arms, glistening in the sunlight with sweat... Okay, maybe he’d still avoid using the word ‘great,’ but it did have its perks.

“How much farther are we talking about here, anyway?” Finn asked, hoping that no irritation made it into his voice. He liked spending time with Poe, but... Well, this was following him into an unknown jungle. Sure, this was where Poe grew up, but jungle infiltrations had been among the many scenarios that the First Order had drilled him on, which meant that there’d always been a chance of some jungle creature bursting out of the foliage or dropping from the branches overhead.

Come to think of it, the First Order had probably drilled that idea into their stormtroopers just to make them less capable of abandoning the Order, giving them no survival capabilities in an environment other than their neatly ordered facilities. If you’re more concerned about the local fauna eating you, you’re less likely to run out in the middle of the night to find the local resistance cells of those who opposed them.

At this rate, Finn should keep a running tally of reasons he was glad he’d turned his back on the First Order.

Poe, in the lead, probably didn’t even realize that Finn was struggling with the old, ingrained ideas forced on him by the First Order. “It shouldn’t be too far. I’m thinking no one’s been through here since I left, so the path’s a little rougher than it used to be.” He flashed a grin back to Finn. “You’re not ready to pack it in yet, are you?”

Finn could certainly take more of a hike. Even if he didn’t want to keep that grin on Poe’s face. “Not yet. Just... you’re sure there’s nothing dangerous out here?”

“Oh, there’s plenty if you’re not careful and don’t stick to the paths. But...” Poe motioned to the worn dirt path they were on, though he seemed to recognize that it wasn’t exactly in the best state to prove that particular point. “Well, I never saw anything more dangerous than a woolamander.”

“That’s... good...” Finn had no idea what a woolamander was. 

And it showed on his face, apparently. Poe’s grin was him clearly taking pity on him. “They might try to steal something shiny off your belt if they get too close, but they’re not dangerous. I’m sure someone’s even tried domesticating them, though they’re not even close to being good pets.”

Pets... There was an interesting thought. Finn knew about pets, of course. But the First Order didn’t approve of them either. Which, honestly, just made him want one at this point. “Did you... ever have a pet?” Finn asked. It was a perfectly innocuous question, surely not giving away his attraction. It just meant he was trying to get to know his friend better. Not that he was trying to get in his pants.

Poe shook his head. “Nah. Never really had the chance. Growing up among mechanics, I played with droids more than animals. Kinda wondered what it’d be like, though.” His smile turned more rueful than his customary upbeat self. “Not that it seems like I’m gonna get a chance, given that the war seems like it’s gonna keep going...” It was a muttered aside, not quite meant to be heard.

But Finn did hear it. “Hey. We’ll stop the First Order.” Somehow. Eventually. Finn didn’t know how or when, but... Well, he’d committed to the Resistance, it wouldn’t do to start questioning it now.

Some of the light came back to Poe’s expression at that, as if he appreciated Finn’s attempted optimism. It didn’t all come back, though. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s the way to think about things, isn’t it? Not if, but when.”

Then he patted Finn’s arm. Finn ducked his head, trying to hide the blush he knew was forming. Poe was the kind of guy who’d surely have no real issue with his friend being attracted to him. But this was a bad time to air all that out, in the sweaty hot jungle, a good distance away from any place where awkwardness could be escaped from... It wasn’t exactly the place that Finn wanted to have that particular conversation.

But he still was disappointed when the contact ended.

Poe, seemingly oblivious to Finn’s feelings, turned back to the trail, such as it was. “C’mon. We’re nearly there.”

‘Nearly there’ turned out to be another half hour of walking, avoiding a small nest of piranha beetles (Poe said they weren’t too much of a problem in small numbers, but he’d considered it safer to just give them a wide berth all the same, and Finn certainly wouldn’t argue that idea). But when they’d reached their destination...

“Wow.” That was all that Finn could really come up with.

The view overlooked much of the valley where the ancient pyramids of the Massassi had been constructed. There had been much historical discussion of the Massassi and their long ago extinction, none of which Finn had yet had a chance to absorb – he still hadn’t gotten the full hang of the idea of being able to look over these histories as a matter of fun, something he could do in his free time (“free time” itself was a concept that was hard to wrap his mind around, another ‘thanks’ to the First Order’s indoctrination). This was looking at history, knowing that it was there, waiting for someone to climb back down to the valley and investigate them all, find all the buried secrets of the past – or, Finn realized, to look at these works and see them as the art of a civilization that no longer existed.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? My Dad brought me here once, and I kept coming back. He told me about the Massassi, the history held here... The history that, if the Empire had won that day, they would have destroyed without a thought. Always stuck with me... The Rebellion, now the Resistance... We’re not just fighting for freedom and the future. We’re also fighting to preserve this. The Empire didn’t care. I doubt the First Order does.”

Finn nodded in agreement. “They don’t. Unless it has some military relevance, they don’t care about it. Art, culture... Anything that doesn’t have a practical purpose, they don’t bother with it.” Remembering some of the children he’d seen running around, he recognized another “little thing” that the First Order had denied him, back in the childhood he’d been denied as well. “They took us as infants, raised us in their structure, their order... We didn’t even get stuffed animals like those kids back in the village.”

The dark look on Poe’s face was enough to make Finn almost pity the next true believer of the First Order they came across. Almost. Poe seemed to almost start in on some angry speech about how they’d make the First Order pay for all the damage it had done, but then he swallowed that, taking a deep breath and looking back out at the pyramids of the Massassi. “I don’t want to ruin this by thinking about the First Order.”

A fair point. The Massassi temples and pyramids were works of art. They shouldn’t mar the sight with talk of the First Order.

Silence descended, though, as Finn realized that, with the beauty of this sight... especially as the sunlight hit Poe in just the right way to make Finn think things he’d been trying to avoid all through the hike.

Poe was a very attractive man. Finn knew the Resistance wasn’t there to act as a dating service or anything like that, but... Well, it was hard not to wonder why someone wouldn’t have swept Poe off his feet. Or maybe it was just that Poe liked to do the sweeping, and he hadn’t found a... sweepee (okay, now he was making up words) he liked.

Which, thinking it over... Finn had to wonder why Poe would bring him here. He clamped down on the wild hope that Poe had brought him here to sweep him (okay, enough with the cleaning metaphor). He shouldn’t ascribe motives to the other man, after all.

“It is beautiful,” Finn said, and while he meant the Massassi pyramids, he didn’t just mean them.

“Yeah.” Poe took a deep breath. “This is why we’re fighting, right? Because these things matter. Not just because they’re the signs of a civilization, saying to those who come after that they were here, that they’re not alone in the universe. But because... Not everything has to have a purpose. Sometimes... that purpose is just to exist. To be beautiful.”

“You’re a romantic,” Finn said with a small grin. It wasn’t until the words were out that he realized what he’d said. It was like he was trying to get Poe to push him into a question about... Well, he couldn’t take the words back.

“Maybe I am. But, hey. The revolutions need the dreamers, right? The people who believe that we can build a better future. Because without that dream... What do we have, right? The whole reason we’re out here is because we believe the galaxy CAN be better.”

Finn almost corrected him, that he was there because the First Order had taken him but hadn’t made him into one of their callous and uncaring shells – like Phasma, he thought, unable to resist feeling glad that she’d died, given her superiority to ‘grunts’ like he’d been, or her disdain of ‘rebel scum’ like he was now – but as he thought about it... Finn had abandoned the First Order because he didn’t believe in the goals they’d tried and failed to brand into his brain. He didn’t see the First Order as the answer, and the Resistance was the best possible alternative to it at this point. 

“It’s a good hope to hold on to,” Finn nodded. 

Poe grinned at that, after a brief moment where he’d seemed almost afraid that Finn was going to offer a ‘but...’ to the statement. 

Finn felt something brush his hand. He didn’t really think about it, passing it off as a bug of some kind, until he felt it again. He glanced down and... Poe’s hand was almost touching his. He looked up to Poe’s face, uncertain.

“Finn... If I’m wrong here, tell me,” Poe said softly. As if... As if he was the one afraid of being rejected.

It hit Finn like a TIE crash. Poe had brought him out here, to share this sight with him, because Poe felt like Finn did.

“You’re not wrong,” Finn answered, equally soft. Poe smiled – not the easy, goofy, fun-loving grin of before, but one of relief and joy. He reached out for Finn’s hand, Finn letting him take it, and then twining their fingers together.

As Finn got accustomed to their hands together like this, Poe started inching closer, into Finn’s personal space. Then, carefully, as if any sudden movements might break the spell, send Finn running away, Poe leaned in, gently pressing his lips to Finn’s own.

The First Order was not going to destroy this. Not the beauty of the Massassi valley, not the individuality that Finn had carved for himself...

And definitely not, Finn thought as Poe pulled the two of them closer, the man who had given him that chance.

The First Order didn’t stand a chance.


End file.
